Japan Press Weekly

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2008 August 27 - September 2 [US FORCES]

Government: U.S. nuclear-powered submarine is safe

The Japanese government received a “final report” from the U.S. Embassy in Japan on August 29 concerning radioactivity leaks from the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Houston, and announced that its safety was reconfirmed.

The U.S. side apparently is attempting to close the case regarding the radioactivity leaks with Deputy Chief of Mission James P. Zumwalt asserting that no further information will be provided.

In a comment published on the same day, Sasebo City Mayor Tomonaga Norio said that he will request the Foreign Ministry to provide details of the matter.

In the period between June and July 2006, the Houston leaked water contaminated with radioactivity. During the period, it entered the U.S. Sasebo Naval Base (Nagasaki Pref.) five times, the U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base (Kanagawa Pref.) once, and U.S. White Beach Naval Facility (Okinawa Pref.) five times.

According to the four-page “final report,” the cause of the accident was water leakage from one of the closed valves. It concluded that the amount of the leaked water was only a little more than the U.S. Navy’s limit.

Japanese Communist Party Sasebo City Assembly member Yamashita Chiaki said that the final report failed to explain why the water leaked and what kind of radioactive substance it contained. He also pointed out the contradiction with a U.S. Navy fact sheet, which claims that U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carriers do not release radioactivity in areas within 12 nautical miles of land.

Yamashita stressed that this final report must not be used to resolve the issue of the safety myth involving U.S. nuclear-powered vessels.